Family
by MeantToBe16
Summary: Because although he wasn’t family by blood, he was family by love. And families comfort each other.


**Summary: Because although he wasn't family by blood, he was family by love. And families comfort each other.**

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It's been three months. Three months since the last and final battle, three months since the war ended and three months since he was killed. Three months of repairing the school and their world, of trying to get back to their normal lives and of realizing that life would never be the same again. Because although there are more survivors this time round, there are also more victims, more deaths. And he was one of the people who died and no matter how long ago the war ended, the fact that he is dead will always cause a pang of sadness in all their hearts.

A memorial service has been organized now that the school is as good as new. The place is cramped for many people have gathered at the school to pay their respects. Wizards and witches who had fought in the war and who had lost their loved ones. They were all bounded now by their own experiences of torture and of survival.

But Arthur Weasley's mind was not on the others. His mind was on the image of his dead son, of Fred's lifeless body with so many others in the Great Hall. His mind is on how Fred had died with a smile on his face and on how young Fred was. His mind was on how he had been unable to protect his son, to have kept Fred from his tragic fate. Arthur mourns on this day for the son he and Molly lost.

Molly was seated beside him and she sobbed quietly into his chest when he pulled her closer to him. Beside him, the same was being done to his daughter. He smiled thankfully at Harry before checking on his other sons to make sure they were okay. But all of them were far from okay and though they were all trying to put up a brave front, Arthur knew better. He smiled at Hermione through his own tears when the girl gripped Ron's hand to comfort his son. It was nice to know, though, that though he had lost a son, he had gained a daughter and a son. But they were no Fred and Arthur finds himself thinking back to memories of his son's childhood days.

The memorial is over soon, though, and he watches worriedly as Harry runs out of the Great Hall, unable to control his own tears of remorse and the pressure of being in the same place where so many people had died for and because of him. Arthur starts to run after him but stops when Ginny, Ron and Hermione run instead and stayed back with Molly, knowing that the boy he considered his own was in good hands.

"Arthur?"

His Molly, so motherly and beautiful no matter how old she was, sounded so tired and so sad. She blamed herself for Fred's death too and he knew he would have to do something soon to tell her that that was not true. But right now, they were all still recovering and they all still needed time for themselves, time to think of the war and the outcomes.

"Yes, Molly dear?"

"We should go check on Harry. I don't think Ron, Hermione and Ginny had much luck," she pointed to the three teenagers who had just entered the Hall again five minutes later and Arthur gulped when he realized that his daughter had been crying. Nodding at Molly, they sat out to find Harry together, not before hugging Ginny and Hermione to tell them that everything would be fine.

They found Harry not long after by the lake and Arthur was reminded of the twelve-year-old boy who had had breakfast with him for the first time. His jet black hair was messy as usual and his green eyes gleamed with tears and of sorrow and guilt. Because although he had saved the Wizarding World, Arthur knew that Harry blamed himself for the deaths of so many others.

"Harry dear, are you alright?"

It was Molly who had spoken first with such a motherly and gentle voice that even the angriest person in the world would have been unable to blow up at her. Touched by their concern, Harry smiled softly.

"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley."

Arthur finds himself go weak in the knees at the broken tone in Harry's voice. Harry, who was younger than Fred, who had defeated the Dark Lord and who had lost so many of his own loved ones along the way. Harry, who was his Ron's best friend, who was like his own son and who was hurting and lying to him.

"Harry, dear. It's not right to lie," Molly smiled gently and sits beside the boy on the ground and Arthur feels amazed at how calm and understanding his wife was. He himself plots himself down next to Harry and gives the green-eyes youngster a tired smile.

He hears Harry take a sharp intake of breath and shares a worried look with Molly. Yes, Harry wanted to be left alone and yes, he needed time alone, but there were times when someone just needs a person to talk and listen to and Arthur knows that that was exactly what Harry needed.

"You won't understand," he mumbled so softly that Arthur almost did not catch it. But he did and he put his arm around Harry's shoulder.

"Try us."

Two simple words. It was with these two words that Harry had looked at them with his eyes glazed with tears. It was after these words were said did Harry lean his head against Molly's shoulders, closed his eyes to try to stop the tears from falling and started speaking.

"It's my fault. That these people are dead. They died because… Because I couldn't stop _him_ sooner."

And as he spoke to them, of his worries, of his thoughts and feelings of the war, of how he blamed himself for Fred's death along with so many others, Arthur and Molly find themselves talking to him about their own worries, their own thoughts and their own feelings of war. They had comforted Harry and waited for Harry to continue talking when he needed a moment to regain himself and Arthur realizes that the young hero had done the same to him and Molly.

The hurt and pain was still there, of course. Arthur knows that it always would be. But they were close to healing, to feeling better and to getting on with their lives. But for that to be possible, they needed to be there for one another. For while he and Molly had gone to comfort Harry, he had in turn comforted them. This just proves to Arthur that Harry Potter may not have been his son by blood, but he was definitely his son by love and he was definitely family. And families comforted each other.

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**A/N: Mt first Harry Potter fanfic... Review, please?**


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